


Problem Solving

by Vagrant_Blvrd



Series: Kings of Nowhere [9]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe- GTA V, Gen, Pre-Fake AH Crew
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2019-02-17 02:53:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13067601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vagrant_Blvrd/pseuds/Vagrant_Blvrd
Summary: When Ryan's boss pulls him aside and tells him to keep an eye on the squirrelly looking guy he hired to handle the tech side of things, it's not a great sign of things to come.





	Problem Solving

**Author's Note:**

> For miss-ingo who asked for "On the bright side, uh, your cut just got a hell of a lot bigger." off the Heist Sentence Starter list and read my mind with the scenario for it. :D

When Ryan's boss pulls him aside and tells him to keep an eye on the squirrelly looking guy he hired to handle the tech side of things, it's not a great sign of things to come.

“Mind if I ask why?” Ryan asks, because his boss – current boss – isn't usually the kind of guy to play games for the sake of it.

Ryan's boss snorts, waves a hand down to the floor of the warehouse down below them where they can see the hired muscle lounging around like overfed lions. The tech guy's hunched over one of his computers in a corner across from them engrossed in something and apparently unaware of the perfect target he makes.

“Kid's got a reputation,” he says, vague enough that it's clear he wants Ryan to figure it out for himself. “And while those idiots aren't worth what I'm paying them, they're the best of the lot I could get onboard for this. I need them for the job. Keep everyone in line and you get a bonus at the end of this.”

Ryan glances at his boss, not really a bad sort for this city, bu nowhere near ambitious enough to make a grab for anything bigger than what he already has. Content to let the others in Los Santos tear each other apart while he carries on in his little section of the city.

“You say that like it's going to be a challenge.”

Ryan's boss grins like he knows something Ryan doesn't as he goes back to the plans laid out on his desk, clear dismissal if Ryan's ever seen one.

========

Turns out, the little shit his boss hired is all but asking to be shoved into a locker somewhere. Fucking high school shenanigans with the jocks against this weedy little nerd who needs help hauling his gear around.

Ryan watches the whole thing, notices the way one asshole in particular is eyeing the tech guy up like he'd like nothing better than to introduce his fists to the little shit's face, and sighs.

“Remember that bonus,” Ryan's boss says, something like a smirk on his face as he heads out to get everyone's attention for the for a quick briefing.

========

And, see. The thing is, the guy Ryan's boss hired for the tech end of things is fucking odd.

Twig of a human being all the way from England with that accent of his and no goddamned common sense to him at all.

Just waltzes up to Ryan who's minding his own damn business and plonks down what looks like a smashed surveillance camera and a mess of wires in front of him.

“Can I help you?” Ryan asks, fighting against a smile when he sees the tech guy waver, the slight hesitation at the sound of the Vagabond's voice.

But this guy (kid, really), narrows his eyes and leans in. Says, like he has no idea who he's talking to - 

“One of your idiots broke this! It's needed for the job, unless you plan to go in blind.” He pauses, eyes darting away for a moment before he looks back at Ryan, head cocked. “You don't, do you? Because that would be a bit suicidal, and I've been told you're not that stupid.”

There's more too, slight flinch when a group of the hired muscle walks past, laughing to themselves like a pack of mean-girls. One of them, ugly bastard, looks right at the tech guy before being dragged away by his buddies.

If anyone had told Ryan Los Santos' criminal world would be a more advanced version of high school when he was younger, he never would have believed it.

“First of all,” Ryan says, realizing that whoever broke the damn camera really went to town on it, “they're not my idiots. Second of all - “

Ryan scoops the broken bits of camera and trailing wires into a pile and pushes it over to the idiot tech guy.

“Try being a little smarter and don't actively antagonize them. They've got guns, you've got your little toys. Do the math.”

The tech guy gapes at Ryan, indignation and annoyance clear on his face, and Ryan -

“I'll talk to them,” he says, keeping his voice low because he doesn't want this dumb kid getting into trouble he shouldn't because he doesn't think he should have to play the shitty game of high school politics anymore, and really, he's got a point. “Just. Try to stay out of their way before then.”

The kid's mouth snaps shut, and he pulls back. Cocks his head the other way and honest to God _hmmm_ s like he's reassessing his opinion of Ryan.

And that - 

“I've got a bonus riding on all of you assholes making it through this damn job without killing each other,” Ryan says as he gets up to leave, no need to let the idiot think Ryan gives a damn about anyone here but himself, after all.

========

Ryan has his talk with the hired muscle, tells them to lay off the tech guy because he's an integral part of the job being a success and all of them getting paid at the end of it.

It goes about as well as he expected. Some of them listen better than others, of course, because there are always the ones who don't give a damn.

And Ryan.

He watches, sees there's really only one guy who makes a point of harassing the tech guy. Shoving hi around when he thinks no one else is looking, looming over him and in general throwing his weight around because he thinks he's better than the kid.

There's not much Ryan can do about it because they need everyone for this job, but he does what he can. Makes sure the idiot tech guy and his bully aren't left alone together at any time because there's no saying how that one would go.

The hired good has size and strength on his side, sure, the tech guy? Smart little bastard. Clever, annoying as hell, really, because he _talks_.

Ryan's not looking to make friends here, just get through the damn job and get paid.

Apparently the tech guy never got that memo because he starts hanging out around Ryan more and more as time passes. At first it's fairly subtle, the idiot working on his laptop in the area of the warehouse set up with tables and chairs and a microwave on a shaky table the same time Ryan is.

Ryan ignores him, and it's a mutual sort of thing until it isn't.

“Is it true,” the tech guy asks one day, sitting across from Ryan and staring at him intently. “That you - “

“Yes,” Ryan says, because there are a ridiculous amount of rumors out there about him, and at this point they can only help his reputation. 

“What?”

Ryan sets down the knife he's sharpening and looks the idiot in the eye. Says, low and menacing as the Vagabond ever is, “Whatever you heard about me? True. All of it.”

The idiot frowns, says, as he picks up one of Ryan's knives and examines it, “So - “

Ryan doesn't sigh, no, because that's not something the Vagabond does. Get exasperated by some idiot who can't seem to stop talking if his life depended on it. 

========

The thing Ryan's learned about tech guys – about anyone _good_ with computers or electronic equipment - is that you really don't want to get on their bad side.

Don't want to piss them off, because all too often they're the ones smart enough to get away with murder. 

Literally.

Sure, the hired muscle have their guns and their knives and their explosives, but the tech guy?

He's the one with all the shiny little toys. 

The guy tapped into cameras all around the city, who hacks computers systems for them and cracks security systems. Gets them into places it would be suicide to go into alone, and is by far more dangerous than all of them combined.

He's the one they're counting on to get them in and out with as few complications as possible, so you'd think they'd everyone else would realize it'd be a smart move on their part _not_ to fuck with him, but no.

You get assholes who zero in on who they think the weak link is, who doesn't understand this isn't high school anymore. Doesn't get that just because the tech guy is smaller, physically weaker, that doesn't mean they're defenseless. Doesn't mean they don't have it in them to fight back if you push them too far, especially in this line of work.

So when something goes wrong and the main asshole harassing the tech guy somehow gets killed?

Well.

Shit goes wrong here in Los Santos all the damn time, doesn't it.

Little bit of hesitation, mix up a direction or two and _bam_ , some poor bastard ends up in a shootout with the cops in some dead-end alley and no backup to be found for miles.

Ryan's boss rubs his temples like he has a headache, and tells Ryan to deal with it as he calls in the others to let them know what happened.

Ryan heads over to the corner of the warehouse the tech guy's claimed for himself. Passes curious and confused hired muscle as he goes, people who haven't heard the news, don't know one of there is dead.

Makes his way past empty cargo containers to that little nook and sees the tech guy staring at his monitors. All of them displaying surveillance and security area footage. 

“Um, so no bonus for you this time, it looks like,” the tech guy says, looking like he couldn't decide whether or not to run and ended up having the decision taken out of his hands with Ryan's arrival. “On the bright side, uh, your cut just got a hell of a lot bigger."  

Ryan stares at the tech guy. The feigned calmness to him as he plucks out his earpiece and sets it down on his desk, dead silence over the comms.

Ryan glances at the camera focused on a ring of police cars, shot out windows and blood spattered down the side of one, cops leaning against another as EMTs see to their wounds. Other cops clustered over a too-still form on the ground just out of frame.

There are questions he could ask, things he could do, because this - 

“I did the math,” the tech guy says, like he knows what Ryan's thinking. What Ryan's considering doing because he's proven himself to be one hell of a liability here with this little act of his.

Ryan cocks his head. “And?”

“I solved the problem.”

The the guy goes for a smile, but it's kind of twitchy like he can't believe he just said that, dear God, _why_. 

Ryan takes a few steps closer, watches the way the tech guy flinches, just the tiniest bit, before he steadies himself. Eyes on Ryan, hands hidden in the pockets of his hoodie, and if he doesn't have some kind of weapon on him – gun, knife – Ryan would be surprised at this point. (Disappointed, actually.)

“You have any more problems that need solving,” Ryan says, leans in closer just to see what the tech guy's going to do. “Come to me first. We can't afford to go into this short-handed, and the last thing we need is infighting when we're so close to the end.”

Don't need the others figuring out what happened, that the squirrelly tech guy just offed one of theirs from the comfort and safety of his little troll lair and decide that requires payback.

Ryan watches the tech guy, sees the gears in his head turning. Slow and painful sure, like this moron doesn't get that he's not on his own here, outnumbered and literally outgunned. 

Surrounded by people who wouldn't bat an eye at killing him if he wasn't useful, necessary. That Ryan's being paid to look out for him as much as he is for anything else on this job. That their boss wanted Ryan specifically for this, knew the meatheads out there would have far more respect for the Vagabond than himself.

“Wait, what?”

The idiot's looking at Ryan like he honestly hadn't realized how much worse things could have gotten if Ryan wasn't there. Didn't let the little idiot keep moving closer and closer while his bullie and his buddies hung around the edges like vultures.

“Pull this kind of shit again,” Ryan says, “You're going to have a problem with me.”

It's on the tip of his tongue, some stupid joke or un about higher math, but no, no.THe Vagabond doesn't do that. Doesn't play with people like this tech guy, doesn't make nerdy jokes, now does he.

Just waits and watches, sees the little idiot nod like because he understands exactly what Ryan means here, what's at stake if he doesn't listen.

========

“Kid's a troublemaker,” Ryan's boss tells him when the job's over, everyone a fair bit richer than when they started out. “But he's headed somewhere, mark my words. It might be a good idea to stay on his good side.”

Ryan snorts, watching the idiot struggling to carry his gear out to the battered little car he's using. The hired muscle are long gone, and it's just the three of them for the moment.

“You think?”

And Ryan's boss – former boss – gives him a look, like he's not the one who helped Ryan get his feet under him in this pit of a town. Like he doesn't recognize potential when he sees it.

Says, “Haven't you heard? Anything's possible in this town.”


End file.
